Justice Kagan Questions Attorney on Common Law and Void Judgments

The Nature of Void Judgments

• ❓ The discussion centers on whether defenses like laches can apply to a void judgment.
• 💡 The attorney argues that if a judgment is void in the purest sense, laches cannot be applied.

Common Law vs. Rule 60B

• ⚖️ Justice Kagan questions the attorney's common law argument, noting that some state courts have applied laches to void judgments for decades, which seems to contradict the attorney's position.
• 📚 The attorney acknowledges that Rule 60B was created to clarify confusing existing rules and common law, with the intent for the federal rule to be controlling.

Constitutional Arguments and Due Process

• ⚠️ The attorney asserts that enforcing a void judgment, even to overcome laches, would violate due process.
• 🏛️ When asked if Congress could write a rule requiring void judgments to be filed within a reasonable time, the attorney believes Congress lacks that power due to the due process clause.
• 🧑‍⚖️ The attorney clarifies that while a specific argument about Rule 60C1 being unconstitutional was withdrawn, the due process clause remains a fundamental argument.

Defining Void Judgments

• 🔍 The attorney defines void judgments as those entered in the absence of subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, or similar defects.
• ⚖️ Other potential defects that could render a judgment void include bribery of a judicial official or other issues that undermine the court's fundamental power to hear a dispute.